West Branch Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VSTFree Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Enclave Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VST. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.80.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vistra

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $185.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $39.13 and a 52-week high of $188.77.

Vistra (NYSE:VSTGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.60%.

Vistra Profile

(Free Report)

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Vistra (NYSE:VST)

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